BEUC unsatisfied with ECON vote on payments

12 September 2006

According to BEUC banks and other payment providers would still have too much discretion to decide when to penalise consumers following the loss or theft of a payment card. BEUC issued its comments after the ECON vote on payments. It complains that unfair practices in this sector are still widespread, ranging from lack of information or exorbitant prices to banks trying to avoid their obligations if your card has been stolen.

ECON voted to reduce the scope to cases where all the providers involved in the transaction are located in the EU and to payments made in the currencies of the EU member states. The Commission proposed that European cardholders should still be protected if they journeyed outside the EU

According to the Commission proposal, the execution time of a payment should not exceed one day, as from 2010. MEPs decided today this should be extended to 2 days – denying consumers the potential benefits of information technology

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